Device to sustain a vehicle driver&#39;s thighs



March 16, 1965 CARBONE-m 3,173,722

DEVICE To susTAIN A VEHICLE nmvxaa's THIGHS Filed Dec. 19, 1965 INVENTOR /TLO CARo/vfrr/ United States Patent O 3,173,722 DEVICE T SUSTAIN A VEHlCLE DRIVER-S n THIGHS Italo Carbonetti, Jia U. Sacchetto 2, Lido di Roma, Italy Filed Dec. 19, i953, Ser. No. 331,878 Claims priority, application italy, Sept. 20, 1963, 19,165/3 Claims. (Cl. 297-423) The causes which lead to motorcar accidents are many and not easily classified because of the many factors of a mechanical, physical, neuro-psychical, atmospheric and traffic order, which are individually involved or act in combination.

One of the psycho-physical factors of accidents is the muscular weariness due to prolonged driving. If we examine this factor attentively, We find that the excessive` and unwonted muscular work is the main cause of weariness, and is brought about mainly by the particular position of the driver. in fact, the apparently comfortable and restful seat in motorcars is the mainly responsible cause of muscular weariness, because it does not afford any support and stability to the drivers body.

Muscular weariness Iis determined by the continuous muscular contractions necessary while driving, and is even more pronounced in :those muscles which are insuciently trained for the required motions. The stress is felt locally and transmitted to distant organs and tissues, such as those of the nervous system, the circulatory and respiratory apparatus, and thus the alterations involving those organs are due to the diffusion of waste products from the muscles into the blood stream.

When the motorcar is standing, the drivers body assumes a position of complete rest, with all his members and limbs supported.

When :the motorcar is in motion, the person driving it is actually no longer in a comfortable position, since the only real support is on the basin, while the dorsal part is only slightly supported and, since both feet have to actuate the controls, they are only supported at intervals; arms and hands hold the driving wheel with no possibility to be passively supported.

Thus the body, which is only fulcrumed on the basin, performs voluntary and involuntary motions with continuous contractions of the thigh and arm muscles, With;- out the possibility of using its normal supports such as hands and feet, which are engaged with the driving wheel and control pedals.

With respect to the voluntary motions, the control 'pedals are placed on the motorcar door, one near the other in order to facilitate the drive. This particular position, in addition to .the excessive height of the pedals, requires a continuous adductory function of the lower limbs, with a lifting of the thighs, extension and flexion of the feet at each variation of the controls. These contractions of the adduetor muscles of the lower limbs are unwonted and are therefore the main causes of fatigue in the lower limbs, inasmuch as the adductor muscles on the internal side of the thighs are normally scarcely trained by the various daily activities, and the same applies to the extensor muscles of the feet, on the anterior side of the legs. On the other hand, when the driver does not actuate the controls and is therefore in `a temporary state of rest, he tends spontaneously to spread his lower limbs in order to attain a position of greater stability and relaxation after repeated adductory motions; this faulty position is confirmed by the fact that the gas pedal is usually worn oif on its right side. Thus at any new variation of the control movements, the legs must be brought together and successively spread again, and this applies especially to the right leg which is always active.

3l'l3,'l22 APatented Mar. 16, 1965 ICC The spreading of the lower limbs also occurs because of an anatomical and physiological factor, since the muscles, which are compressed by the seat, tend to spread apart the femora and to bring them again together requires therefore an even greater effort in order to obtain the contraction of the adductor muscles ofthe thighs. Only a small percentage of people feel the fatigue, caused by these muscles, to a lesser degree, i.e. Sportsmen (skiers, skaters, swimmers), who train their adductor muscles by means of these sports.

Besides the above mentioned motions, there must be also considered the ceaseless contractions of the muscles for the support and balance of the drivers body; in fact, the motions performed to counteract the loss of balance due to the centrifugal forces arising when the car takes a bend, engage all muscles: the dorsal, leg, arm and especially the thigh muscles, which support the body by their contractions.

In order to eliminate the fatigue arising from the excessive and all too frequent muscle contractions and the lack of stability, I have realized the device of the present invention: it greatly reduces fatigue and permits prolonged driving, as it aifords the driver the resistance necessary to cover long distances, with their muscles relaxed and their reflexes ready. The padded supporting device of the invention, which sustains the adductor muscles of the drivers thighs, comprises two assemblies, each consisting in a supporting pad disposed laterally with respect to the guiders thighs and whose height is adjustable so as to exert a correct pressure on said thighs to keep them almost joined together.

This supporting pad is upholstered at its surface of contact with the thigh, so as to distribute on a larger thigh surface the support pressure which favors the abduction, i.e. the spreading apart of the thighs. This device is therefore very useful for reducing the involuntary abduction motions and thus supplies a valid support for the legs, with a slight lifting thereof, and a constant passive adduction; thereby the continuous contractions of the adductor muscles are eliminated.

The padded supports are made movable since they must be applied when the driver thinks it useful, and they may remain retracted during short stretches, mainly to facilitate access to and getting out from the seat. The supports are also approachable towards each other to fit the drivers build.

The device of my invention and its mode of operation will be better understood from the following description and attached drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a lateral sectional view of a motorcar seat into which the device of my invention has been installed;

FIGURE 2 is a front sectional view of a motorcar seat into which said device has been installed;

FIGURE 3 is a modified embodiment, to be installed on already existing seats; and

FIGURE 4 is a partial sectional View, on an enlarged scale of another embodiment of my invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the two assemblies forming the padded support device intended to sustain the thigh adductor muscles of the driver are shown installed into a motorcar seat. Each assembly comprises: a support .generally indicated at 1, whose padding consists in a cuslnon or pad 2 whose purpose is to distribute the support pressure of the thigh on a larger thigh surface; a stem 3 carrying said pad 2 and ending in a piston 4 slidable Within a cylinder 5; between piston 4 and cylinder plug 6 there is inserted a helical spring '7 fastened to piston 4 and cylinder plug 6, which spring biases the piston 4 downward. The support device is lifted by gripping the knob 9 of handle 8 and extracting the latter from the tubular recess 1n the padded support, seizing the extracted 3 Y handle 8 and lifting thereby said support to the desired level, as indicated by the dotted lines. Thereafter both supports 1 are swung around pivot 10 until they abut l against the drivers hips, and fixed in this position by engaging pin 11 in the appropriate tooth gap 12 of the serrated plate 13. To bring the device back into its concealed position in the seat the two padded supports are lifted slightly, in order to disengage pin 11 from the tooth gap 12 and swungback until the wallsV of cylinder 5 abut against stops 14 in the seat frame. Once the handles 8V are released, spring 7 pushes the supports back into their recesses. supports to move in the described manner, the upholstery of the seat must be made in such a manner as to permit this movement, and eventually it can be litted with bellows in the neighborhood of said supports. Y

Another embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, is adapted to be tted on already existing seats. The padded support 1' is`fastened to a stem 3 linked at 15 to piston rod 3". Piston 4, which carries Vrod 3, is also slidable within cylinder 5 and lconnected to cylinder plug 5 by means of the helical spring 7. Stem 3' is curved towards the axis of therseat and pivotabley in 15. When not needed, each support 1 can be rotated outward and down. When in use the position of the supports is adjusted, to fit the drivers build, by lifting'them suiciently to bring pin 11 overV the serrations of plate 13', rotating said supports 1 inward until they come to abut against the drivers thighs, and releasing the supports to let pin 11 fall into the corresponding tooth gap. Y Y

Since'this device serves for applications in already exist- Ving seats, Iboth support assemblies are mounted on an extra frame 16, whose bottom piece is fastened to the seat frame, as -by bolts 17.

FIG. 4shows a modied'pad form. In this embodiment the pad is curved inward to follow the thigh contours Vand thus better support the same.

What I claim is:

1. AA, paddedvsupporting device to sustain the adductor muscles of motorcar drivers, comprising: d

(a) two padded support assemblies, each consisting in asupport pad to distribute on a larger surface the 'support pressure exerted by the thigh on it;

a stem Vfastened to said supporting padfand ending, at itsrside opposite Vtothe pad, in a piston slidable 'within a cylinder;

a helical spring connecting said pistonto a cylinder plug VappliedtoV the Ytop of said cylinder and biasing said piston in a downward direction;

It is understood that in order to enable the (b) a serrated plate `extending horizontally within the seat;

(c) pins projecting from said stems and engageable in the serrations of said serrated plate;

said support assemblies being pivotable towards and away-from the seat axis to be moved in and out of Contact with the drivers thighs.

2. A padded supporting device according to claim 1, incorporated into a motorcar seat and comprising two assemblies, each of which is contained within a lateral recess in the seat proper, is rotatable around a pin connecting the base of the cylinder, within which the piston of the stem carrying the padded support is slidable, to the seat frame, and can be lifted by means of a handle extractable from a recess provided within said padded support.

3. A padded supporting device according to claim 1,

. wherein the stem supporting each pad is linked to the rod of the piston, slidable within the pivoted cylinder, so as to be capable of being swung inward and outward with respect to the center line of said seat, and the whole device comprising the padded support assemblies, together with their stems, pistons and cylinders and other components is mounted on an extra frame, which is apt to be fastened to the frame of said existing seat.

4. A supporting device according to claim 1, apt to be Vfastened to an already existing motorcar seat and comprising two assemblies, in each of which the stem supporting the pad is connected -by a link to a part of stem ending in a piston slidable within a cylinder, which is pivotally connected to a frame applicable to the frame of the existing seat, by which arrangement said supporting pads can be tilted outward and downward when the supporting device is not in use.

5. A padded supporting device according to claim 1, in which the pad has a shape following the contours of the drivers thigh to better support the latter. v

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,255,539 2/18 Kuderer 297-417 X 1,-75 31,367 4/3'0 Dickens 1 297-427 2,514,798 7/50 Rowe 297-113 2,772,725 '12/ 56 Leasure 297-427 3,099,483 7/ 63 Hofberg V297--46Q Y FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.` 

1. A PADDED SUPPORTING DEVICE TO SUSTAIN THE ADDUCTOR MUSCLES OF MOTORCAR DRIVERS, COMPRISING: (A) TWO PADDED SUPPORT ASSEMBLIES, EACH CONSISTING IN A SUPPORT PAD TO DISTRIBUTE ON A LARGER SURFACE THE SUPPORT PRESSURE EXERTED BY THE THIGH ON IT; A STEM FASTENED TO SAID SUPPORTING PAD AND ENDING, AT ITS SIDE OPPOSITE TO THE PAD, IN A PISTON SLIDABLE WITHIN A CYLINDER; A HELICAL SPRING CONNECTING SAID PISTON TO A CYLINDER PLUG APPLIED TO THE TOP OF SAID CYLINDER AND BIASING SAID PISTON IN A DOWNWARD DIRECTION; (B) A SERRATED PLATE EXTENDING HORIZONTALLY WITHIN THE SEAT; (C) PINS PROJECTING FROM SAID STEMS AND ENGAGEABLE IN THE SERRATIONS OF SAID SERRATED PLATE; SAID SUPPORT ASSEMBLIES BEING PIVOTABLE TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM THE SEAT AXIS TO BE MOVED IN AND OUT OF CONTACT WITH THE DRIVER''S THIGHS. 